Des Moines area?

[MDB0073]

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Hello all. I just wanted to see what people have to say about the Des Moines area and university. I was accepted to program in december and have been waiting for a decision from OHSU (I'm an oregon resident) before I finalize. The reason I don't know about the area is because my interview was actually in Portland, OR. Also, just wanted to know about how people felt about the Des Moines 3rd and 4th year rotation schedule (moving around).

 

[jbone]

The school, students, and faculty are excellent. Des Moines was a large city, not huge, but not tiny either. Love the school and will be there this fall. Good luck. You might want to post this in the Osteopathic thread so you can talk with actual DMU students and get their take on things. Best of luck. 👍

 

[kahoo99]

there's something to be said for visiting the actual school before you have to make a final decision eventhough it's expensive. i think there are some threads on DMU 3rd and 4th years if you do a search.

 

[misparas]

I would say fork out the money and make the trip. My visit was huge in my desicion. I loved the place! The school and facilities are amazing and I really liked the city. It's big enough that there should be plenty to do, but small enough that the cost of living is low. Good luck.

 

[Krazykritter]

I am a current first year at DMU. I really like DSM for the most part. I have lived in Iowa my entire life and really think that DSM offers a great variety of options.

As for 3rd & 4th year...I see positives and negatives to moving around. I am married and maybe starting a family around this period of time so these are my main negatives. However, you will be applying for residency in many areas other than DSM. Moving around is a benefit in that it will expose you to different hospitals and clinics that you may be interested in. At the same time, you will rotate through different hospitals that you do not like and will be able to stay away from these programs come Match time.

I really like DMU and enjoy going to school at DMU as much as any first year can.

 

[InvaderDOC]

I had an interview for Des Moines University last friday. The students and faculty were great, and alot of the facilities were new and state-of-the-art. The campus is very safe and living in Des Moines is affordable (one can get a one bed room apt for around $500-$600 and a two bed room apt. for $700-$900, depending on the location).

Des Moines is best described as a large city with a small city atmosphere. I mean, there is a deer crossing on one of the major streets (on MLK drive, I believe) and my friend and I saw turkery's at one of its park. If you like being in nature, I think Des Moines is a great town.

On the downside, if you're a persons craving a night life, Des Moines is a little bit lacking on that department--at least according to what I saw on Friday night. I went down town with my friend to look for excellent dining, and found that hardly anyone was there that night. It could be that I was at the wrong part of down town since the majority of buildings I saw that night were business offices, which are closed for the weekend anyways. Also, since you'll be in medical school, you probably don't want much of a night life at all.

Nevertheless, I loved Des Moines. If I were accepted, it'd to be a tough choice between DMU and KCUMB (which I just got accepted). I hope this helps. 😀

 

[laboholic]

I would definitely visit DMU before you commit. I interviewed there and did not like the school at all. There are others on this forum that have had the same experience. Who knows, you might be someone who really likes it... but I would never go to a school "blind" even if it is a good school like DMU.

 

[misparas]

I would definitely visit DMU before you commit. I interviewed there and did not like the school at all. There are many others on this that have had the same experience. Who knows, you might be someone who really likes it... but I would never go to a school "blind" even if it is a good school like DMU.

Just curious... was it the school or the interview that you didn't like?

I haven't heard anyone say they did not like the school... you'd be the first. I've only heard complaints that people had bad interviewers.

 

[laboholic]

Just curious... was it the school or the interview that you didn't like?

I haven't heard anyone say they did not like the school... you'd be the first. I've only heard complaints that people had bad interviewers.

The school was a little small for me and I didn’t like the "feel" if there is such a thing. I also didn’t like that the school does not really have any full-time basic science research happening (except for maybe 1 or 2 labs) or hardly any NIH funding as I would like to be involved in research during the summer. There are also some other things that I didn’t like, but they are more based on my experience with a couple of the students, so I wont go into it. I talked to another person from my school who interviewed there and they felt the same way.


Oh, I didn’t like my interview either but that’s a different story. 🙂

 

[misparas]

The school was a little small for me and I didn’t like the "feel" if there is such a thing. I also didn’t like that the school does not really have any full-time basic science research happening (except for maybe 1 or 2 labs) or hardly any NIH funding as I would like to be involved in research during the summer. There are also some other things that I didn’t like, but they are more based on my experience with a couple of the students, so I wont go into it. I talked to another person from my school who interviewed there and they felt the same way.


Oh, I didn’t like my interview either but that’s a different story. 🙂

Fair enough!